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Need to reinvent tourism
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Posted on Apr 13 2001
The Issue: The shift in visitors from the old folks to the younger ones over the last two decades.
Our View: This warrants rethinking if current scenic sites are still attractive for younger tourists.
It was in the early sixties when the first group of tourists from Japan landed here at the old airport (now Koblerville). It was a group that had close affinity with these isles some of whom were born and lived here before the hostilities of World War II.
Most of these folks were the older generation now in their early seventies. Many of them made return trips to an island they once called home. A decade or two later, many are in their twilight years trying to endurethe hardship of the sunset of old age. They no longer make return visits to these isles.
Old scenic sites that depict the defeat of Imperial Japan had greater meaning then as these venues were turned into peace memorials. That was then, we’re not sure that its attractiveness still holds true today. Thus, the need to reinvent visitor activities beyond old scenic sites.
Saipan has secured its meager share of marrying couples from Japan. Hawaii has the lion’s share of marrying couples. This is just as opportune a time for the CNMI to study the preferences of younger visitors so we cater to their fancy over fast-eroding and irrelevant past activities.
We need to study what our competitors have done right over the last decade. No longer can we afford distraction to take the better part of our judgment. This and other vital issues definitely require reinventing and the only way to solve the equation is by studying what others have done right. It isn’t that we must duplicate what they have done as much as the need to wake up to changes and new challenges in visitor preferences we have seemingly neglected all along.
A step in this direction should enable these isles to secure a respectable share of the same market. Let’s do it today! Si Yuus Maase`!
